Celebrated on February 14 every year, Saint Valentine's Day or
Valentine's Day is the traditional day on which lovers convey
their love to each other by sending Valentine's cards,
sometimes even anonymously. The most common feature of
Valentines Day these days is the mutual exchange of love notes
in the form of "valentines". Popular Valentine
symbols of modern times include the heart-shaped outline and
the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, mass
produced greeting cards have largely replaced handwritten
notes. It is believed that nearly one billion Valentines Day
cards are sent each year worldwide, making it only the second
largest card-sending holiday next to Christmas. Women are
believed to purchase approximately 85 percent of all
"valentines".

Stories of many Valentines

Opinions differ about who St Valentine was. Early
martyrologies mention at least three St Valentines under the
date of 14 February. One is a priest at Rome, another a Bishop
of Interamna (now Terni in Italy) and the other lived and died
in Africa. Many, however, are of the opinion that the first
two are the same person.

It is, however, widely believed that Valentine's Day has
perhaps originated from the ancient Roman feast of Lupercalia.
A festival was held on February 15 in honor of one of their
gods Lupercus, who was called upon by the Romans to ward off
the threats of those fierce wolves that roamed the adjacent
forests. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia, a love
lottery was organized in which the names of Roman girls were
written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man
then drew a slip and the girl whose name he picked up was to
be his sweetheart for the year.

The holiday subsequently became Valentine's
Day after a priest named Valentine. At that time when
Christianity was still a new religion, Valentine was a priest
in Rome. The then Emperor Claudius II, had issued an order
forbidding the Roman soldiers to marry or become engaged. The
emperor believed that once they got married, his soldiers
would want to stay home rather than fight his wars. Valentine
defied the Emperor's decree and secretly married the young
couples. He was finally arrested, imprisoned, and beheaded on
February 14, the eve of Lupercalia. Valentine was posthumously
named a saint. As Christianity grew stronger in Rome, the
priests moved the Lupercalia or spring holiday from February
15 to February 14, i.e., Valentine's Day. Since then the
holiday began honoring Saint Valentine instead of Lupercus.

"From your Valentine"

According to another story, Valentine was one of the early
Christians who was seized and dragged before the Prefect of
Rome and jailed for helping some Christian martyrs. He cured
the jailorís daughter of blindness while in jail. When the
emperor learned of this miracle he ordered the beheading of
Valentine. Valentine is said to have sent the jailorís
daughter a farewell message signed, "From your
Valentine".

In 1969, as part of a larger effort to reduce the number of
saint days of purely legendary origin, the Church removed St.
Valentine's Day as an official holiday from its calendar. At
present, February 14 is dedicated only to Saint Cyril and
Saint Methodius.